When Last time I wrote about Dean’s permalink migration plugin I didn’t realize some people will find it hard to use it. When we talk about Wordpress SEO the basic thing is permalink. Wordpress default permalink structure is ugly for SEO and it does not make any sense for search engine optimization.
Today I was working for a client wordpress SEO and she was using the default wordpress permalink which is no where close to SEO optimization. Well I had to change it to something better for SEO and without breaking a single post , else 404 errors will create a problem.
I think this tutorial will help you from migration your default wordpress permalink to search engine optimized wordpress permalink. If you have not written any post and if its a fresh installation of Wordpress you need not need to follow this steps and you can directly change your wordpress permalink structure from settings >permalink under your dashboard.
For people who are using /category/post permalink, for them word of caution stop using two category for single post, you are creating post duplication issue. It’s better to stick to one category per post and use tags to structure your blog.
301 Migration of Wordpress default permalink to SEO permalink
This is a simple step by step guide for newbie’s to change their default wordpress permalink structure to something meaning full and search engine friendly.
Step 1
Download Deans permalink migration plugin. Install and activate the plugin
step 2
Under Settings > Permalink migration Enter old blog permalink , I assume you using default permalink so you should put
/%post_id%
Click on update options.
Step 3
Now you need to enter new permalink structure and you can do it by going to Settings>permalink
I prefer using /%postname%.html permalink structure , you can take help of wordpress permalink tags to get something you like. IMO keep it short and simple , which make sense to search engines.
Once you changed the permalink , click on update.
Now check your posts and pages , if everything is normal you have done everything alright. If things goes wrong, you might need to crosscheck the permalink settings you entered in permalink migration settings.
If you find any problem or have any question regarding this or Wordpress SEO. Feel free to get in touch with me.
Related posts:
- How to change your wordpress permalink without losing traffic
- Wordpress SEO plugin: All in one SEO plugin
- 8 Essential Settings after Installing Wordpress
- Wordpress SEO : 5 basic practice you should implement
- Why changing of post permalink after publishing is not a good idea
- How to upgrade Wordpress Plugin Correct Way
- Importance of proper Categories for better SEO
- Shoutmeloud opens Blogspot and wordpress.com to self hosted Wordpress blog migration service
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
this plugin is working good
Thanks for Confirmation.
Hi Harsh!
thanks for this post ! You are a life saver!
A real thank you mate !
Hi Harsh!
I tried using this plugin and did as you mentioned above but still I am getting a 404 error…please help.
If you are using Platinum SEO, then this plugin is not required. I changed URLs in my blog and checked the Automatically do 301 direct options. Great information as it lets you know that the URL format can be changed without much trouble.
I’am having problems with getting plugin to work. Changed old permalinks to /%post_id% and custom structure to /%postname% and still get 404 error. Please help.
This is great guide! Thanks for sharing.
It doesn’t work for me either. I’ve been looking for a solution on the Internet for a while now and couldn’t find anything helpful so far. Most of the articles present it as just plug&play, but it looks like a lot of people get 404-error. I followed the instructions exactly and it still doesn’t work. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Has any of you, who was having problem got it to work? I’m having the same issue as Misha, I even went and modified the .htaccess file but still getting 404.
hey Cherry
if you click on my picture it will take you to my website. one of the most recent articles is about how I fixed this problem